FREE SCI-FI COMIC: HIRO (Hardware Integrated Reanimation Ordnance) / Issue Zero
HIRO (Hardware Integrated Reanimation Ordnance) from Atomic Elbow comics is the creation of artist @MuttMan and writer @MachoDano, a crowdfunded project that has recently reached its goal and gone into production with the 48 page edition Blood of Patriots.
As a taster they have also released a FREE prequel comic Issue Zero, which you can view HERE.
The story opens in a secret military laboratory. Buzz-cut aggressive General Marsh is breathing impatiently down the neck of Dr Krupin, inventor of a robotic device that operates by welding itself to the body and brain of a recently deceased soldier and transforming it into a musclebound cyber-zombie killing machine...
Of course, things don't go as planned (do they ever?) and also it seems the good doctor is hiding something from the brass...
The sequel is uncoloured but no less punchy for that. The artwork reminded me a little of some of the old 2000AD stories I used to read back in the day (many of which were a little on the macabre side, but not quite to this extent, if I remember!), a tad grungy and textured rather than polished, but with an energy that bursts off the page.
It's a promising beginning and I read through the whole 15 pages of content in what felt like 15 seconds, with a definite desire to find out what happens next. Here we have, on the face of it, a fairly standard action comic premise, not unfamiliar to many of us ... military need pushes the boundaries of morality, decency and sanity... the existential angst of a half-human weapon which may or may not have a soul ... but there are some juicy hints here that there is more to the story than just the usual clichés.
The gruesome tone is accompanied by themes of patriotism and perhaps even nostalgia (Russia as the enemy? A Bible quote in the preface?) and you wonder how fine the line is drawn between irony and sincerity... But that is just another layer of mystery to unpack as the journey continues. My instinct says these guys know what they are doing and I won't be disappointed if I take the plunge.
There is just enough there to pique my interest without giving too much away and those first few pages have the momentum to carry the reader up to the little cliff-hanger at the end.
You can read Issue Zero for free and if you want to continue it's a mere $5 for an email copy of 'Blood of Patriots' ...which, I can tell you now, I will be reviewing soon.
Zak Webber
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